Arsène Wenger reiterated his desire to keep Theo Walcott this morning after it
emerged that the Arsenal manager had softened his stance over the forward’s
contract demands.

As reported in The Times this morning, Wenger has told members of the
board that they should
go close to matching Walcott’s £100,000-a-week wage demands
rather than stick with the figure of £78,000, which was presented as a final
offer when the negotiations broke down over the five-year deal in August.

Wenger has spoken repeatedly of his intention to keep the England forward at
the Emirates Stadium and said this morning that he